Big Country Roy Nelson vs Mario Rinaldi
MMA heavyweight fighter Roy Nelson aka Big Country takes on Mario Rinaldi in this Bodog fight card. The fight took place on the island of Costa Rica and gives us a good idea of how Big country handles the heat. With his fight against Antonio Nogueira coming up soon. It’s interesting to see how a much larger Nelson handled the hot climate in this bout with Rinaldi.
And we hear from fighters who have competed in Bodog just how hot it was on the canvas. With temperatures sometimes passing one hundred and ten degrees and the black canvas sometimes burning the fighters. Seeing how Nelson dealt with the heat and the pace of this heavyweight fight is very interesting indeed.
With some quarter tonne of weight inside the ropes, this was always going to be a hard-hitting affair. And early on in the first round, we could see both me were throwing huge punches. Rinaldi looked to be the heavier of the two and landed some hard shots early. And while the commentators repeated that Nelson had been working on his hands, it appeared to be Rinaldi landing the better punches early on.
Roy Nelson Lands The Hammer
Rinaldi continued to press the action, getting Roy up against the ropes and forcing him to grapple. In an energy-sapping hot day, both fighters wrestled to gain the upper hand in the clinch. But while Roy Nelson may look out of shape, he is a well-conditioned athlete. Absorbing whatever punishment Rinaldi was dishing out and firing back with his own combinations.
Then at two minutes forty-two of the first round, Nelson lands a stinging right hand that wobbles Mario. Nelson followed up with a second right hand and dropped the big man to the canvas. Then following with some Big Country style ground and pound, he stops Rinaldi with a series of unanswered blows. A big win, quite literally from the heavyweight veteran.